Procrastination has a new name – MEETA! I do not think I have ever done a Daring Bakers’ challenge this late in the three years I’ve been with the group. But boy was it worth it. If truth be told, I was going to give the challenge a pass this month.

I like to reminisce in regular intervals. While I am whisking, chopping or simply stirring I will tilt my head to a side and think to myself "So I am whisking now! What was I doing this time last year?" Tom often tells me look forward and not back. But I tend to disagree with that. I believe that by taking a look back at what you have done and where you came from, you can often reassess your goals and check if you are progressing forward the way you wanted to, if not re-focus. Furthermore, if you do not remember the mistakes you made back then how will you hinder yourself from making them again?

I hope you are sitting in an upright position and your seatbelts are tightly fastened as we get ready to take off on an exciting culinary journey to one of the most colorful countries on our planet – South Africa!

We pulled up on to the gravel path of the deserted gas station and as I stepped out of the car, stretching after the long ride, the pebbles crunched under my shoes. It was dark. The only light coming from an old, dusty lamp above illuminated a shanty looking shed with a bedraggled sign above it. The moth bouncing off the lamp, wings fluttering in haste, caught my attention for a minute.

Friends come in all sizes, shapes and formats. Some come, others go and only a handful leave an impression in our lives, chiseled in our every sense, for the lifetime to come. Friendships, while some will remain cherished and nurtured, others will break away maybe not forgotten but outgrown or remembered in disdain.

Mr. Chadwick would be the hero of this post. Without him coming into my life I am sure it would not be filled with romance, intrigue, adventure, passion, suspense and love. Without him I am sure I would have lived in a very different, colorless world and probably would never have discovered and understood some of the world’s greatest literary classics.

The cuisine of South Africa is a melting pot of flavors, aromas and ingredients brought to the country by the several cultural groups that have co-existed together over the past 350 years. Each cultural group made their impact on South African cuisine, making it vibrant and colorful. It’s not much of a surprise that the cuisine of South Africa is called “rainbow cuisine”

Overall winning photographs achieve the highest scores from all three categories - edibility, originality, and aesthetics.

One of last month’s Easter treats were these buttery Saffron Brioche. I loved the photo series for the recipe. My aim was to use the natural light to highlight the golden yellow of the saffron brioche. My post was about Spring and its arrival. The yellows of the nature around me inspired me for the photos.

About this photo

StylingAs I mentioned above lighting was to play a major role to highlight not only the yellows but also to mirror the writing on my blog post. On brown wooden parquet I placed an old piece of distressed wooden board, which is fairly thick and builds height. Behind it one can see a vase with yellow narcissus flowers. The background is a piece of brown card. Yellows, beige and browns were the main colors playing off the colors I saw outside. Keeping it simple I presented the brioche in the baking tins not only do they look good but I was liking that they were also reflecting light.

PhotoI wanted to focus on the one brioche in the front, give the feel that it was ready for the first bite. Playing with the DoF I chose F/4.5 (f-stop value) to focus on the brioche in the front, blurring the rest behind. Shutter speed was set to 1/250 sec. and ISO at 400.

The light comes in from the right of the photo and I used a bounce on the left to light up the dark patches on the left. In the front I use a large mirror to bounce light from the window onto the brioche in the front.

I’d like to thank the judges for their hard work, having judged a DMBLGIT previously I know it’s a difficult task. I am chuffed about this one and glad to have a new turquoise badge to add to the others. I also want to thank Julia for hosting this round!

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...